A grater particularly intended for use with nutmeg is described in German patent 51,938 of Charles Blood. It has a grater board formed with an array of sharp-edged holes and forming a pair of longitudinal guides flanking the hole array. A piston-like nut holder can slide longitudinally over the hole array while pressing a nut against it to abrade pieces from the nut. A cleaner plate has bumps that engage between the rows of holes on the plate and is carried by the nut-holder slide to clear the board of particles with each stroke. Such an arrangement cannot dislodge pieces actually caught in the holes. Furthermore if used with a stickier foodstuff, such as citrus peel, it would surely clog very quickly.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,572,443 of Coleman has a grater board with no throughgoing holes, but instead formed with deflectable teeth. A complex holder arrangement can be stroked across the grater surface to abrade particles from a piece of meat held in it while dislodging those abraded particles from the grater teeth so they drop down for collection. This arrangement is not suitable for standard grating tasks, and is fairly complex.